The Down Side of Paradise: FLIES

Just when you think you've found the most beautiful, perfect place on the planet, the wind changed. LITERALLY. The shift in the wind blew swarms of flies from the endless dense forests to the beach and oddly anything white or light colored. At this bottom picture, my daughter was saying, "These flies are putting tiny holes in my skin!" Yes, they were biting flies. They swarmed anything that was light colored......like our paradise beach, our dog, our skin.....anything and everything. Got up the next day: More flies. Next day: More flies. We'd wake up and look out on the screen tent, which was WHITE making it a huge fly magnet, and we'd have our own fly forecast. When it was covered at 7 a.m., we knew we were going to have to drive inland for the day and find something else to do. The campground host informed us that he had seen the entire campground emptied as everyone cleared out because of the FLIES. We've camped for years and have experienced all types of critters and bugs. It's a part of camping. But this was by FAR the worst "bug" experience we've EVER had!!! The western side of Pictured Rocks doesn't get as bad, because there is actually a town close by and the forest isn't as dense as it is here. Down the way from Twelve Mile Beach, where these pictures were taken is a beach called "Mosquito Beach." Hmmmmmmmmmm We have to make sure we time our next trip here wisely. I heard the flies we experienced were NOT the dreaded "black flies" we had heard about since those typically arrive earlier in the summer. I believe these were stable flies. All I know is that bug repellent was useless on them.